Worker dies at Lotte construction site

A man died at the construction site of the Lotte World Tower early Tuesday morning, according to the Seoul police. It was the second death at the site since construction began in 2009.

The 38-year-old man, surnamed Hwang, died while working alone at around 8:40 a.m. on the 12th floor of the Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu. He is believed to have been hit by an iron pipe and died on the way to hospital.

Authorities said that the accident had been caused by fittings on the pipes bursting due to high pressure.

This is not the first casualty during construction of the 123-story building. Last June, one construction worker was killed and five others injured when part of the building collapsed. Then in October, a passerby was injured when an iron pipe fell from the 21st story. The death of Hwang is the second accident this year at the site, after a fire on Feb. 16.